Shaker Woods ~ Festival Articles

Tynan:Check out the “Big Carver”

Butler, Pa. native Ken Tynan is excited to be at Shaker Woods for the first time. The former billboard painter turned chainsaw artist will create three to four carvings each day of the show. To determine what to carve, he often asks kids what they want to see.

Ken first witnessed chainsaw carving at the Iowa State Fair 16 years ago. While living in Iowa, he took a carving class, participated in a competition and beat the teacher. “I just got it. It made sense to me. I call it the art of subtraction. I went nuts with it,” he said. “I never looked back.”

Since then, he’s returned to Butler, become a multiple award-winner on the international carving competition circuit and was featured on the Canadian reality television series “Saw Dogs.”

Today, this self-employed chainsaw carver works 40 hours a week, producing one creation after another, most of them large. “Each one makes me better,” he said.

Ken’s sculptures include superheroes, animals and faces, for which he’s best known. That’s no doubt due to the years he spent painting faces of realtors and lawyers on billboards. His keen eye for faces is exemplified in his lifelike artwork.

His preferred wood is white pine because it stands up better, although he’s currently working with a metal sculptor to combine both materials.

Another project in the making is of Pirates-great Roberto Clemente for Graham Park in Cranberry Township, Pa.

If you’ve never witnessed chainsaw carving, here’s your chance to see this increasingly popular art form. Visit the Simple Gifts Stage (10:30-11:30 a.m.) (12:30-1:30 p.m.) (2:30-3:30 p.m.) August 13-14, 20-21 and 27 to witness the talented Ken Tynan in action. You’re sure to be “wowed” by his special skills.